- A NSW man has been identified as the rightful King of
England by a leading historian.
-
- Medieval scholar, Dr Michael Jones says he can prove
Queen Elizabeth's claim to the throne is illegitimate and it should belong
to Michael Abney-Hastings.
-
- British-born Mr Abney-Hastings, who moved to southern
NSW as a teenager, is the subject of a British documentary.
-
- Mr Jones, one of Britain's leading historians, believes
he has proved through painstaking research that the Royal Family's right
to rule is based on a lie.
-
- He says King Edward IV, who reigned from 1461 to 1483,
was not of royal blood; he was the illegitimate son of a French archer.
-
- Sitting in his home in Jerilderie, 640km southwest of
Sydney, in a T-shirt and shorts with a can of beer after a hard day at
the wheel of a forklift truck, is the man who it is claimed should by rights
be King Michael I of England.
-
- But the 62-year-old, who is about to unwillingly step
into the world spotlight, has no plans for a change of lifestyle.
-
- Mr Abney-Hastings was astounded when Mr Jones and a Channel
4 crew turned up on his doorstep. "When they told me I was surprised
all right," he said.
-
- "But I don't think it will worry us too much. Titles
don't mean much out here and I have no intention of leaving Jerilderie.
-
- "Why would you want to be king anyway? They can't
do anything without someone on their back. This thing will all blow over
in a couple of weeks and life will go back to normal."
-
- The British research shows the heirs of King Edward IV's
younger brother, the Duke of Clarence are the rightful rulers of England.
-
- Mr Abney-Hastings has three daughters, two sons and five
grandchildren and he works for Rice Research Australia on a 2400ha farm.
-
- Apart from when his wife died a year ago, Mr Abney-Hastings
had not visited an Australian city for 12 years.
-
- He has a strong tie with the community and is president
of the local historical society and the St Vincent de Paul group.
-
- "I was at dinner yesterday at a friend's house and
they all stood up and sang 'God save the King' as I walked in. We all had
a laugh," he said.
-
- In fact, "King" Mike is not quite as Australian
as his broad accent suggests. Born in England and educated at Ampleforth
public school, he is the 14th Earl of Loudon, and a string of other lesser
titles. The evidence which may change his life is in a document Dr Jones
found in a library in France's Rouen Cathedral.
-
- It proves, he says, that at the time of Edward IV's conception,
his parents were 160km apart.
-
- Edward's "father", Richard Duke of York, was
fighting the French at Pontoise, near Paris, while Edward's mother, Lady
Cicely Neville - based at Rouen - was apparently deeply engrossed in the
company of a local archer.
-
- In the five-week period when conception could have taken
place, Edward's royal father was a good five days' march away.
-
- The court was rife with whispers of an affair.
-
- King Louis XI of France is recorded as shouting about
Edward: "His name is not King Edward - everybody knows his name is
Blaybourne!' (the surname of the French archer).
-
- A concerted campaign was launched by the family, hoping
to stifle such rumours.
-
- The royal flaks even suggested that conception had taken
place in May 1440 in Yorkshire, before the royal parents set sail for France:
an 11-month pregnancy!
-
- The documentary airs in Britain next week. No release
date has been set for Australia.
-
- © 2003 Mirror Australian Telegraph Publications
-
- http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8266043^13780,00.html
|
